The End

This afternoon I finally made myself go downstairs and pack up all of the Cyber School materials to send back.  I've already received 3 phone calls about returning the computer (which was up in the attic in the original boxes, still unopened), even though school officially ended just 10 days ago.  I finally made myself this deadline, because tomorrow morning I will be in the area of town where the UPS drop off is during their very limited open hours.  I put it off as long as I could, puttering around the house, watching the chicks for a while, reading to the girls.

It was a really hard task to do,  both physically (I packed up 8 boxes of stuff) and emotionally.  I got teary many times.  It felt like I was packing up my things to leave my job.  A job that was both wonderful and terribly frustrating, that was challenging yet simple, that has been my main focus for the past 5 years.  The books I packed were old friends, having read them with both girls for first and second grade.  I packed up inflatable globes (uninflated), CDs, DVDs, song books, art prints, and Math manipulatives.  Surprisingly, I didn't feel even a smidgen of relief to be packing these things up.  With all the hard moments, and tears, and tender times, and excitement of learning, it is a journey that I am SO glad that I took with my girls, even though I was initially hesitant.

The arrival of J's Cyber School supplies,
summer of 2008

The relief came tonight as I loaded all 8 boxes into the back of our incredibly dusty van.  I'm glad that task is over with.  It will be bittersweet sending both my girls off to school next Fall, and such a HUGE change for me.  I can't even imagine what life will be like.

Now it is time to celebrate summer, and the opportunity to teach my girls in the garden, in the kitchen, and to spend many hours snuggled together on the sofa reading wonderful books.

Blew a Gasket

My dad was using the splitter yesterday to split firewood, when it blew a gasket on the oil filter.  He was sprayed all over with oil.  "I'm glad I was wearing safety glasses!"  he remarked.

When I blew a gasket this afternoon, safety glasses wouldn't have been sufficient.  I exploded and yelled, and sent red, hot, burning lava flying across the room.  A full body asbestos suit would have been more appropriate.

What could have caused this reaction, you might ask?  Art.

I've mentioned before that I really like the curriculum that we have been using for the past 5 years in Cyber School, especially History, Science and Art.  I haven't mentioned, however, that the girls DON'T like the Art.  I really think it's put together well, and starting in Kindergarten, the girls were taught Art History, about well known artists, and about various art techniques.  Some of the projects are kind of hokey, but for the most part, they seemed fairly simple, and pretty fun.  For some reason, both girls developed an instant dislike to doing a project the way it was instructed, instead of doing their own thing.  Most of the time, if the their technique would not distract from the lesson, I gave them some freedom.  I heard complaints about the EXACT SAME projects from both girls, and for some reason, Art is the very last subject that we finish EVERY YEAR.

Sigh.

L is extremely persistent.  She did NOT want to do the Art project today, which was to draw and color a building in the style of Ancient Greek Architecture, including columns, a frieze and a pediment.  It isn't the most exciting of projects, I agree, but it is simple, and should be quick.  After getting through the first few negative comments ("This is dumb."  "This is boring."  "Why do I have to?"), which were echoes from J's 1st grade year, she moved on to:  "I can't draw a rectangle."  "I can't draw a triangle."  "I don't know how to use a ruler."

By hour number two, it morphed into: "The ruler is broken.  I didn't do it."  "I can't draw steps."  "I can't draw columns."  etc, etc, etc.

I lost it at "The ruler is broken."

Needless to say, the simple, quick Art project is edging into the third hour, which has kept us from accomplishing any thing else this afternoon.  It happens frequently, and it is so, SO frustrating.

Pair that headache with the one where the On Line School crashed about 7 times today, I am ready to be DONE with Cyber School.  DONE.

Now I am so angry with myself.  Why do the little things FEEL so BIG?  Why do those things get under my skin in such a BIG way?  Why don't I have the self control of an adult, when I definitely have the problems of one?  Why?  Why?  Why?

There seem to be no straightforward answers, and changing my fiery short temper is taking a lot of WORK.  The end result will be worth it, so I resolve to be persistent, just like my youngest daughter.

Out of My Hands

We did it.  Today, L and I got her birth certificate out of our Safety Deposit Box at the bank, and took it to the Elementary School to enroll her for 2nd grade next year.  The paperwork has been filled out, signatures signed, i's dotted, and t's crossed.  All done.

I'm going to have more "free time" next Fall than I ever have before in my life.  I'll have no more excuses for not having dinner ready when JP finally arrives home each evening.  Oh, I'll fill it up all right.  I'm sure I'll FEEL just as busy as always, but I just might get a few more of those things done that have been on my "To Do" list forever.

At the same time, I feel a bit sad.  I can't believe that my baby will be leaving me, or that my home schooling adventure will be over...at least for the time being.  My goal, when I ventured into home schooling, was to provide the best education that I could for as long as possible.  I think I've achieved that.

I sat down out in the soft, green grass to chat with J this afternoon.  I have been feeling guilty that her last year at home was so stressful, and there was so much yelling and crying from both of us.  It was a rough year.  I apologised to her about it.  She assured me it was alright, and then told me that she missed some things still:  the Art History, the History and Science.

After I informed her that the local Library contains many, many books on those subjects, J launched excitedly into her plans for the summer.  "I want to do a lot of reading," she said. 

We talked about other things that we hoped to achieve this summer.  It was a wonderful moment to spend with my blossoming older daughter.

"You know, you have a lot of things to work on too, Mommy."  she announced. 

"I know," I told her.  "I've been really working on yelling less.  Don't you think it's better?"

"Oh yes," she replied, taking my chin in her hand.  She traced the dark circles under my eyes with a finger.  "You see these?"  she asked.  "You work too much."

I work too much, all the while my little girls are growing up.

Then my Doctor phoned.  She reported that my mammograms this morning were changed from last year's.  I think she commented on a "consolidation on the left" that was new.  More mammograms and ultrasounds will be ordered.  It is unlikely that there is a problem, but it's difficult not to worry a tiny bit, especially since another friend has recently been diagnosed with Breast Cancer.

Deep breath.  Release.  Let it go.

It's all out of my hands:  the "consolidation", new educational opportunities,  girls growing up.  I have to just let it happen, roll with it, and enjoy the ride.

Wierd, Wild Schtuff

I sort of remember an SNL skit of Johnny Carson saying over and over again, "That's some weird, wild schtuff!"  Those are really the only appropriate words that I can find to describe the past couple of days!

Yesterday, J took her first sick day from school.  L was actually fevered and vomiting the night before.  Miss J was merely warmish and complaining of headache and stomachache.  She did lay low until the afternoon, when she seemed to revive.

This morning the excavator was delivered...again.  After it sat, missing one tread, in our back field for an entire weekend, we planned to have it brought back last weekend.  When we were advised of a forecast calling for 4 inches of rain over last weekend, we rescheduled for yesterday AM, and then at the threat of snow yesterday, for this morning.  It did indeed rain at least 4 inches, beginning Thursday night, and ending briefly for a small spot of sunshine Monday afternoon before it started again, and turned to snow yesterday morning.

It was interesting to slip and slide on frozen mud out to the chicken run this morning!

Our internet was out most of the day.  We discovered the issue when we were trying to start school work this morning.  It is rather difficult to do Cyber School when the cyber part is not in existence.  L and I packed up and drove to town.  After her  Speech Therapy, we went to the Library and made use of their free wireless for awhile.  When L got too hungry, we drove across town and made use of the free wireless at McDonald's to finish up school.

Yesterday morning I received an email from L's school stating that there would be a Holiday Bowling party in Canonsburg this afternoon.  I was excited 1) because this is first school function that they have scheduled closer than a 60 minute drive away, and 2) the girls have never been bowling.  So I made arrangements to pick J up in town, and drive the 40 minutes to the Bowling Alley right after school.  Of course, on the way to pick up J, we had to turn around and re-route because of the road being closed for pipe line work.  (Grrrr!!)  When we arrived at the Bowling Alley, there was no one from the school in attendance, and I was told that there were no reservations for today under the name of our school. 

Since we drove all that way, we went ahead and bowled a couple of games.  L got a strike in her second game.  Two frames in to game number 2, J got her attitude on and began stomping and pouting and informing anyone who would listen what a stupid, dumb sport bowling is.  Yay!

We arrived home to find that the excavator is apparently working just fine.  Dad had dug a 3 foot deep ditch running the entire way across our driveway, so we had to park outside.  There is a small foot bridge in place so that we don't have to jump across to get to the main door of the house.  That was interesting to maneuver carrying the groceries!  By tomorrow afternoon, it should mostly be filled back in.  This is phase 2 of our outdoor wood burner project (the pouring of concrete the day after Thanksgiving was phase 1.)

The Moat

Do you see what I mean?  Weird, wild schtuff...all day!  Hope tomorrow is of the boring variety, after a sick day yesterday, and the W.W.S. today, I could use a bit of monotony and quiet!

So Much for "Nothing to Do!"

I am canning turkey tonight, and when this canner-full cools down, I have a few quarts of chicken and turkey stock to can.  I am very thankful that I finally learned to use the pressure canner last year, after many years of fearing it.  (I'm also thankful that my Mom lets me borrow hers just about whenever I ask!)  Frozen left-over turkey never ends up being a crowd pleaser, but these jars of poultry are tender and perfect for dumping into chicken and dumplings or whipping up into my favorite curried chicken salad.  As an added bonus, the dogs enjoy the juice poured over kibbles.

Before the pressure canner, I froze all my green beans.  Last year, when the beans in my garden went absolutely crazy and I couldn't even give them away fast enough, I ran out of room in my freezer.  That was the turning point, since pressure canning is apparently the only safe way to can beans.  Now I'm even considering canning dried beans, will they cook as they can?  I need to google that!

So I ended up with some work to do tonight after all, but it is not difficult.  I have also tried to time it so that all is finished well before bed time.  I think that the girls are on the verge of coming down with something, so we all need some extra rest right now.

I need to go work on a Subtraction Facts Chart for L.  The addition one turned out nicely. 

Here goes nothing...

Composition

Yesterday, L had a Language Arts assignment to write a composition about something fun that she did recently, and the people she did it with.  We were having computer problems yesterday morning, so she ended up writing the composition with my Mom while I was at work.  I didn't see what she wrote until this morning.

Here it is:

L's teacher, Miss K, had this to say about it:

"I have never read anything like this before, but L did a fantastic job!!!  My dad grew up on a farm so I love hearing stories about kiddos who do things like this.  I give her tons of credit, because I sure wouldn't have been able to help out!"

Raising Young Scientists

My friend recently posted about how her daughter successfully gender integrated the recess soccer team.  (You can read about it here.)  My kids enjoy playing soccer on the County League here, but they aren't great (although L made 2 goals in her Sunday game, and J made 1.)  Their eyes do light up, however, if they are presented with a new Science object, especially one they found on one of their nature hikes.

I have to admit that my eyes light up too, when new things to study Scientifically come my way.  We have had the opportunity, living in the country as we do and homeschooling, to make impromptu Science lessons out of many, many things that we find.  Although my days of homeschooling appear to be numbered, I intend to continue studying natural science with the girls for as long as I can walk these hills.

L came in from her outdoor wanderings after lunch, clutching something behind her back.  "It's time to get ready for your Science lesson," I told her.

"No Mommy!  I need to do something first!"  she exclaimed.

I finally pried and wheedled until I discovered what she had clenched in her fist - about half a dozen scraps of landscaping fabric, that were likely part of the casualties from the recent destruction of my flower garden.  "Honey,"  I tried to reason with her, "that's just trash.  I'd rather you didn't bring that into the house."

"I'm going to wash it, Mommy!" she promised, and disappeared downstairs.

A few minutes later, I followed her down to finish up that Science lesson.  I found her sitting at her desk with a magnifying glass, a ruler, paper and pencil.  She was carefully recording measurements of her find, and was examining each piece carefully with the magnifying glass.  She discovered letters on one fragment, and was trying to determine what it said.

During our "real" Science lesson, regarding types of matter - specifically gasses - we used the balance to determine that a filled balloon weighed 4 grams, while an empty balloon only weighed 2 grams and therefore gasses have mass!  I left the balance out for her when I left to pick up J after school.  She told me later that she found that all of the pieces of fabric together weighed only 1 gram.

And so, my budding young Scientist has obviously been paying attention during our school Science lessons, and she enjoys discovering new things enough to thoroughly study a handful of landscaping fabric scraps.  I'm not sure exactly what that means in the big picture, but she made me proud of her today!

My Day Has Gotten Somewhat Better

Just as I finished digging up part of my perennial bed last night in the drizzle and darkening skies, the sun came out for a couple of glorious minutes.  It could have been lovely to sit on the porch swing as the dusk settled, while the golden clouds around the sun lit the wet grass and shone it to diamonds, but I was too tired to enjoy it much.  I did enjoy a short phone call while I sat on the porch swing - from one of my friends who went West this summer .  She shared the good news that their family will be coming back East...to Indiana...for at least 2 years.

My final challenge last night was to pay the bills.  The checkbook wouldn't balance, however, and there wasn't enough money in it anyway.  I struggled for over an hour before suddenly something clicked, and the checkbook balanced, and I found enough money.  By this time it was well past my bedtime.

So I awoke reluctantly this morning to get J off to school.  L was dragging too...didn't feel well and ate little for breakfast.  I pushed my groggy body, and her little reluctant one:  much to do today, AND the chipper gentleman from the auto body repair shop had promised on the phone yesterday that my van should be done this morning!

L sat on my lap, and we worked through almost all of her school work.  I packed up some things, and a little lunch for her, as she still didn't want to eat, and took off for a visit with my Family Doc at noon.  I figured that we would go from there to pick up the van, but a quick phone call confirmed it wouldn't be ready until 3:30.  So...Plan B:  get groceries now, pick up van after getting J from school.

Arrived at grocery store, and no shopping list could be found.  I couldn't even reconstruct a teeny bit of it.  On to Plan C:  go home and finish Art class, go shopping while J is at soccer practice.

L still hadn't eaten her lunch, and complained of her tummy after all that time in the car.  She snuggled on my lap at home as we looked at paintings by Wasily Kandinsky, Van Gogh, and Edward Hicks and discussed the types of lines found in them.  She ate some applesauce.

Back out to pick up J, then we headed to the library.  I received the phone call on the way there that the van was finally ready.  We picked out books in a hurry.  I chatted briefly with the Library Director, who informed me that someone broke down one of the doors and stole a huge water bottle full of money...the gazebo fund...from our already financially strapped library.  Idiot.

As I was slowly backing out of my parking space, I bumped into a car parked along the road behind me.  ACK!  I wrecked the rental car!  I hit an old purple beater, and I had no way of knowing if I actually did any damage to it, although there was a dent in the rear fender...sorta kinda directly behind my car.  It seems that I'd seen that car there almost every week when we visit the Library.  No one inside claimed it, so I knocked on the door of a house nearby.

"No,"  the woman answering the door said,  "not my car.  My son is a police officer, and he thinks it is abandoned.  They are getting ready to tow it."

One police report, one insurance claim report, and an embarrassed call to Enterprise later, we were ready to roll.  The Police Officer told me that he had cited the other car for illegal parking.  Good to know.

Enterprise told me that I would have to pay my insurance deductible up front when I returned the car.  My insurance representative told me that figure was $1000.  It didn't look like $1000 worth of damage to me - a scuffed area on the bumper about 8 inches long and 2 inches wide.  Whatever. 

The Enterprise Dude came out to assess the car.  He kneeled down and started rubbing at the "damage".  It all wiped off!  All that was left was a tiny scratch that wasn't even through the paint.  "I'm not worried about that.  I'm not charging you a thing!"  (Sigh of relief.)

As we FINALLY loaded our things into our lovely van (which was thoroughly detailed, and hasn't been this clean in a LONG time), JP called and offered to pick up something for dinner.

We arrived home with enough time for J to change into her soccer gear, and JP handed off our food through the van window as we were driving away.

I did the grocery shopping while J had soccer practice.

The builder stopped by while we were out and told my Dad that I had already removed enough from my flower garden for them to work, starting in the AM.

L ate chicken nuggets and peaches for dinner.

I have no (terribly pressing) tasks for tonight, so I can head to bed when I finish this post.

Things are looking up.

I hope I don't regret those chicken nuggets at 2 AM.

Multi Packs

Today is FINALLY our official last day of school.  Last week was pretty light, but we finished up everything, leaving this week free except for Writing Camp.  I still have to log the girls in every day though, since we are officially still in school.  When I logged in this morning, I received an invitation to L's Kindergarten "graduation" on line.  The invitation had a cute little poem on it about all the things they learned in Kindergarten, and how she would "see you next year for First Grade fun."

I got nauseated and teary, and had to talk myself down from a full blown panic attack.  Truly.  First Grade...my baby is going into First Grade!

That's not what upset me so much though, it was the reminder that I won't have J with me next year.  This year has been really rough.  J and I have had a LOT of arguments about how school should or should not be done.  She has driven me crazy with her Math issues.  And yet...this will be something new for both of us, this going off to school thing, and it scares me a little bit.  It will finally force me to let her go, this child that I prayed to have as my own so many years ago.  Are you allowed to be teary eyed when you take your 4th Grader to school on the first day?

But, that's not what this post is about...

We have a busy day ahead of us.  The girls are finishing up the books they are writing in Writing Camp, then we are dashing off to Mingo for our last Homeschool Outdoor Classroom.  After that, I have a few things to return at Sam's Club, and a list of new things we need.

Still not what this post is about...

We have all been hooked on this video lately, a multi-pack of musicians sharing a guitar:

Not quite what this post is about...

See what we got in the mail yesterday from Amazon?  A rainbow of playground balls!

Four Square anyone?

Swarm

There is a reason for the paucity of posts of late - we were preparing for and going on a pseudo-vacation. I say "pseudo" because poor JP was stuck in conferences all day and didn't get to play as much as the girls and I did. This is one of those times when Cyber School is really great: we packed up our lessons and took them along. We did some on the road, and some in our Hotel room...easy peasy.

Now we have returned, and are trying to return to some semblance of normalcy at home. The dogs were happy to see us, and we had been missing them.  They fell asleep almost as soon as we got home, and slept most of the day today, breaking to eat very little. I think they got worn out playing with all the dogs at Pandemonia Acres, where they stayed.

We were in Williamsburg, VA, and stayed at The Great Wolf Lodge.  They not only have an indoor water park there, but 4 floors of an interactive video game called "MagiQuest". We spent our days doing lessons in a hurry, playing in the water park, playing the game, and reading in our room. In the evenings, we went out for dinner, walked through an Outlet Mall (and found Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream), walked through Colonial Williamsburg (and found Haagen Dazs Ice Cream), and inadvertantly crashed a prom.

Obligatory Colonial Williamsburg pictures in the stocks...

On our way home, we stopped at the Frontier Museum in Staunton, VA, which is a favorite for all of us. They now rent electric golf carts to tour the grounds in. JP was thrilled to drive us around, and it allowed us to spend our time seeing ALL the exhibits, instead of walking to a few of the best ones before leaving.  Isn't it just GORGEOUS there? (This is the 1800's American farm.)

JP and the girls in the golf cart.

JP creeping through the tiny door in a house in the West Africa Igbo Village.

The gentlemen at the German farm, who always plays the Scheitholt for us.

A handsome cockerel at the German farm.

After our return home, we picked up all our random animals from my parents house: a goldfish and tadpole that the girls adopted the week before from a local nursery, and 3 dozen peeps.

These girls are Barred Plymouth Rocks, and should grow into handsome hens in a few weeks! (Picture courtesy of Wikipedia.)

Today we noticed bees swarming in great numbers around my perenniel garden.  (Click on the picture for a better view.)

They eventually settled on my Harry Lauder Walking Stick tree.

We called the Bee Man, who came out tonight to see if he could catch them.  They mysteriously disappeared while we weren't looking, but stayed several hours, clustered on my little bent tree.

My Father turns 70 tomorrow, so we took my parents out for dinner tonight. We came home for ice cream and pie made from the last of the sour cherries that I picked a year and a half ago.

Bzzzzzzy, bzzzzzy, bzzzzzy around here

Still Alive!

Whew! We made it through 3 days of PSSA testing, driving 25 + minutes each way, attempting to avoid the ever present road work delays, dashing home to change and let the dog out before rushing off to work on the first two days. Even though J didn't have other school work due to the testing, Kindergartner L, did. We were able to get guest passwords to connect to the wireless Internet at the testing location, so L and I would find a cozy corner to do school work in. It went surprisingly well!

Now, while we are making the transition between 3rd and 4th grade Language Arts for J, and K and 1st grade Language Arts for L, our load is a bit lighter. I was so glad not to have to rush out the door this morning with backpacks, lunchboxes, computers and my coffee, that I let the girls sleep in a bit. Consequently, we have just finished violin practice, and J is currently at an on-line Math class.

J had so much fun being with kids her age, that it makes me feel a lot better about my (almost) decision to send her to public school next year. It has been a good run, but the past year and a half of Math class have been extremely frustrating, and I am ready to let someone else take over...someone with a degree in education!

It has been so warm lately, that the dog, in her long, black winter coat, is sweltering. I spent over an hour attempting to trim her last night. Today she looks as if someone untrained cut her hair! I'm not finished though, I bathed her this morning, and when her dreads are finally dry, she is easier to brush, and hopefully also to trim. Round 2 tonight, Kali-Girl!



Today, I finally have the chance to take stock of Poplar Ridge in Spring time for the first time since the weekend. The Cleveland Pears lining the curve of the driveway are blooming. This year 8 of the 9 are still living! (The first winter, at least half of them died, and I had to replace 2 last spring.) I am finally able to get an image in my mind of the trees, large and shady, blooming in their lovely cone shapes along the drive.



My Weeping Cherries are weeping long ribbons of fragrant white flowers, and are completely covered with bees. Plants are popping up all over in my flower beds, many of which are likely weeds. I'll deal with them later. For now, the green is very pleasant to behold!



The seeds I planted indoors are sprouting: pumpkins, winter and summer squash and cucumbers. The peppers and tomatoes are taking a bit longer.

The hens are laying 6-7 eggs a day. That's alright for 9 hens, I suppose, but we are planning on a new bunch of peeps in a few weeks. When those are laying, the old biddies will be "retired".

It's the circle of life, and I really enjoy this section of the circle!

Beautiful Day

It is amazing how clear and deep blue the sky can get on these crisp Fall days. Unfortunately, I spent the better part of this lovely day inside at work or doing school with the girls until soccer time. I've been having delicious day dreams lately of life without Cyber School, where my time with the girls would be pleasant without wheedling, coaxing, or threatening for lessons to be done, and the sky is blue and breezy all the time. It will be better once the soccer craze is over with, right? Then I'll be able to stop popping the Zantac and Advil and breath deeply once again...right?

In the meantime, we've managed to squeeze in a few fun activities, and presently JP and my Dad are busy building the long awaited lean-to's on our garage and barn. JP poured concrete into an old tire as a base for the tether-ball set that has been stored in our garage for over a year. It is extremely stable now, but a bit too heavy to move around. By the way, it's no fun to play tether-ball with JP...he simply smacks the ball up so that it wraps around the pole about 2 feet above my head. He needs to play with someone his own size!

Several of our friends made a spur of the moment trip to Pittsburgh to attend the U2 concert this summer. JP was a bit sad, learning that he had missed his (possibly) last opportunity to see them. So, we did the next best thing...bought a live U2 concert DVD from Amazon, and played it on the big screen downstairs with surround sound. It was an incredible concert: Sept. 1, 2001 at Slane Castle, Ireland, and a great pseudo-concert experience. The last concert I attended (before Suzuki Violin recitals became part of my life) was Jimmy Buffet, so avoiding the crowds, the backpack margarita machines and vomiting was quite pleasant as well! The only down side is that the girls now sing "Sunday bloody Sunday" over and over again...just. that. one. line.

I was overly proud of myself last night for finishing up the last of 2 bushels of apples into sauce. JP brought me down a notch when he told me that his mother canned 110 quarts of applesauce yearly. I'm still apparently not quite Mennonite enough!

I passed up the opportunity this past weekend of taking a road trip BY MYSELF. Yep! It's official: I'm nuts. My 20th college reunion was held last weekend down in VA, and JP was willing to let me go, while he stayed home with the girls. I bailed though, because the van has been making odd clunking and squealing noises of late, and I was a bit nervous to drive it 5 hours South by myself. I would rather stay home and make applesauce and tend to feverish children than sit by the highway somewhere in West Virginia, waiting for a tow truck.

That's the story of my life lately: blue skies to balance the black holes where I think I can't possibly make it through this school year, U2 concerts in the privacy of my own home against the auto repair issues and missed parties, tether-ball inadequacies and applesauce abundance. Through it all, I have a good man by my side, and 2 lovely girls who look a bit like me. Life couldn't be more beautiful.

Musings From My Hotel Room

We are joining JP at his conference this week, so are doing cyber school from our Hotel Room. It's amazing how much easier it is to accomplish a significant amount of school work when:

-L has only a limited amount of clothing to pick from
-no one has to make their beds
-I don't have to unload the dishwasher
-there are no dogs to walk, cats to feed, or chickens to tend to
-no violin practice to get through first, and
-I have a week's worth of lessons and materials prepared and on hand

So this morning we breezed through lessons, and made it to the restaurant mere seconds before one of my dear college friends and her 2 boys. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch of Mennonite food, before exploring the Wilbur Chocolate Factory, then the Sturgis Pretzel Factory with them.

This evening, we met JP's sister and brother-in-law, recent empty-nesters, for another Mennonite meal and lovely conversation. This was followed by a brief dip in the Hotel pool before showers and bed.

The girls are sleeping soundly, completely worn out from our very full day. Tomorrow we hope to visit my cousin and her children at their dairy farm, and the following day to eat lunch at the retirement center with my Grandpa.

If only I could leave the beds unmade and the dishwasher unemptied at home, we would be in a much happier place as far as school work goes. SIGH. If only...

Nearing. Complete. Exhaustion.

We have already put in 6 or 7 hours of soccer this week, between practices, games and shuttling to and fro. We have another 2 hours rescheduled for tonight. We have eaten fast food for the past 3 nights running. I feel like a blob with no energy.

Tonight I am admitting defeat and calling in the troops. I will take J to soccer practice, and call on the good will of my friends to keep an eye on her while L and I come home and make dinner, something with LOADS of vegetables. I'm hoping that I will have time to eat some of it before I run Kali off to college (she is in a study of dog training at the university for 30 min/week).

School is going ok, but absolutely ALL of my time is gone between that, soccer, and the inevitable life things like laundry and meals. I spend another 1-1 1/2 hours after the girls go to bed just prepping materials for the following day. What have I gotten myself into?

I'm about a fraction of a centimeter from going insane! Once soccer is over in another 6 weeks, I'm tempted to take a giant sleeping pill and hibernate for approximately 10 days.

Hodge Podge

While I had the step ladder out to water the plants this weekend (yes, I have to use a ladder to water my plants weekly!), I decided that it was high time to dust up there. Nasty. After everything was sparkling clean, I got inspired to dig out my Fall decorations. Yee haw!



This morning, J needed a quiet place to read while L and I were working on Math class. I set up this little reading nook in a sunny corner of their play room, which they both fell in love with. By the way, this morning L finally earned that blue feather boa by getting dressed and upstairs in 15 minutes for 5 days in a row.



This weekend, JP built a cover for the 5 foot deep window well by our main door. Since we are almost ready to install the woodstove in the downstairs family room, this hole will be a storage place for firewood that can be accessed from downstairs.



Finally, just a couple of pictures of my new flower bed.



The morning glories have only been blooming for the past week. They look like they are trying to escape out of the flower bed..."Feed me, Seymour!"



It's been a long day: school for 2, took the dog to be groomed, attended Monday Music in the Park, soccer practice for J, and Library Board meeting. I'm signing off...

Falling Into Place

It is merely the 3rd day of school here on Poplar Ridge. Already, nothing has been routine. I'm not complaining, really, because it's actually going ok. Luckily this week was scheduled for testing and orienting with on line school. We didn't need to orient, so we took the opportunity to ease gently into the work load. L still needs to learn that school is not optional. We're getting there!

Already, I find myself falling into those routines that we've had for the past couple of years during the Fall. Last evening, I sipped a mug of tea in the kitchen, while preparing dinner. The girls sat at the bar doing their handwriting lessons, then I chased them outside as the sun actually appeared through the clouds for the first time in several days. The tea. Making dinner while J works at the bar. Chasing kids outside. It's all very familiar. (I hope I'm not jinxing things by being overly optimistic this early on!)

We had an unexpected trip out to Mingo this morning for a science lesson about "Mingo's Meanies". We talked about poison ivy, stinging nettles, copperheads, mosquitoes and ticks, then went for a walk to identify most of those (no snakes or ticks).

This afternoon I am teaching L lessons that I remember from J's Kindergarten year, and having the same struggle with Math and Phonics that I did with her big sister: already I am hearing "This is SOOOOO boring!", so already I am skipping ahead.

Have I been here before? Oh yes, I have! I started Kindergarten with J 3 years ago, both of us new to cyber school. At the time I was showing the house, ultimately selling it, then packing and moving into a teeny weeny apartment in town. Those were the good old days!

This time it will be a piece of cake!

First Day of School 2011

Well...this is it: our official first day of school, my first day as "teacher" to 2 girls. It started off with a couple of glitches: I was unable to log on using J's login info (that I checked yesterday), and her teacher was apparently having internet issues as well, and did not come on line for the 9:00 "Meet Your Teacher" session.

This week we are supposed to do testing, J does the Scantron, L does DOMA and DORA. J has finished the Reading portion, L has finished her DOMA. We will likely do some more in a bit.

It is raining...over 4 inches in the past 2 or 3 days. I'm starting to get restless. I head to work in a couple of hours, then dash to soccer today. Here we charge into Fall!

Outing of the Week 7 - Swimming & Take Your Daughter to Work

I am exhausted after last week, both emotionally and physically. L's school supplies arrived Thursday morning, so I spent several hours cleaning and organizing the school room. J's are due to arrive today. The girls and I decided that we needed to take a break that afternoon and go to the pool. It was lovely! We always go after 2 PM, when it starts clearing out to miss the crowds.

Friday morning was the funeral service for N. It was done by a group of Orthodox monks from their old congregation in Chicago. The musical chanting nearly put me into a trance. It was special to sit with a large group of people who loved her, and think about the small part of her life that I knew.

J was adamant about coming to the funeral with me. N's daughter is one of her good friends after all. I didn't have time to take her back to my mother's before heading to work (an hour and a half late already), so I had her pack a bag of quiet activities and let her hang out in our break room. My mother unexpectedly had an appointment in our building that morning, and came by to bring J home, but she refused to go.

She read a book until lunch. After lunch she colored and played with medical models with the surgeon's son. The last hour she spent helping in the front office with filing charts and photo copying!

When we returned home, L asked me "Is J a doctor? She said she worked in your office!"

Later that night, we had friends for dinner and basketball, and family arrived late to spend the weekend with us. Now I am looking over my calendar for the week, and already it is looking ominous.

I Think I Can...

My Post Title is overly optimistic, I think. I am trying will positiveness into my brain by just thinking it!

I just finished going through J's school papers from last year, and clearing out the cabinet to make room for L's school things. Right now I am feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt and fatigue. It's so bad, that I am unable to do anything else at the moment but ruminate!

These are the things causing guilt: 1) Finding several Preschool workbooks in the cabinet that I had every intention of going through with L, but never found the time to when both of us were in the right mood. In all honesty, she knows the material...picked it up while I was working with J, and through her own Preschool experience. It's just the principle that I never sat with her and did these things like I did with J. 2) Uncovering a book for grades K-5 on computer/word processing that I meant to go over with J. Again, she has picked up many of these skills by using the computer to create a couple of Power Points for extra credit last year. Ok...maybe I don't feel so guilty about that one after all.

This is THE thing causing fatigue: Simply thinking about cyber school last Spring. J and I finally got into a routine around April, but it was very easily thrown off by an extra Dr. appointment or trying to make it to a play group. I just don't know how I can possibly teach this curriculum to 2 children and still work, manage the garden, fit in violin lessons and soccer practice, and oh yeah! we probably have to eat and have clean clothes occasionally...are there truly enough hours in the day? Do I truly have the sanity in my being to do this? (Oh, and here's another one to add to the guilt list: L really wants to take music lessons. I should have started her on something already, but I'm not sure I can handle 2 violin practice sessions a day!)

JP asks, when I get in this terribly fatalistic mood about school: "When does J start doing stuff on her own?" There are things that she could and will have to take more personal responsibility on next year. My opinion however, is that her "home schooling" experience should NOT be one where she teaches herself. I feel that my role is to be able to present the new material to her, similar to what might happen in a Public School classroom, then allow her to work through it on her own while being available to help with problems and questions.

This summer is not going at all like I had hoped. I was hoping to slip a bit of violin in here, some gardening in there, and lots of afternoons full of reading. Instead, the things I do are taking me so long, that I am not having the long lazy hours to spend organizing this all. I don't think the girls mind, actually, that they have long, unstructured days in which to spend all the time they want playing so creatively.

Yesterday and today, J and I worked together to sew a dress for her doll. She did most of the work, and it turned out very nicely. She came up to me tonight and thanked me for doing that project with her...such a sweet heart! At least I have confirmation that some of the time, I parent in the right, important way!

Am I wrong, all you home-schoolers out there, in my desires for teaching my children in this way? Should I really just be dumping workbooks in their laps and expecting them to fill them out? I don't think I would enjoy that kind of education, which is why I have higher expectations of myself as a Mommy/Educator. Perhaps my expectations are TOO high. (Really, any one who knows me is probably saying "Uh...yeah!" right about now.) At least in this situation, I am pushing myself for my kids, and not for personal reasons...nothing is too good for my kid, right?

Oh boy, oh boy...this post is just all of my CRAZY coming out! At least it has been somewhat therapeutic. I think I can go finish my sewing now and put the machine away.

RADICAL ACCEPTANCE!

New Year's Resolution: Same Old, Same Old...

Whew! December was a busy month! Just days after returning from our R & R in Florida, Christmas arrived (ready or not), along with 8 extra family members who celebrated Christmas, Birthdays and New Year's with us. Now, 8 days into 2011, I have finally finished putting away the extra bedding and towels, taken down the Christmas tree, and baked a second Birthday cake. I was hoping to slow down a bit, but January is plowing ahead, regardless of my desires.

JP and I had Pre-Employment Physicals last week, which shocked me into reality. Soon our lazy limbo period will come to a close and our late nights, sleeping in, and afternoon naps will have to become a thing of the past as our jobs begin in 2 weeks.

J is deep into school already, and we are nearly caught up from vacation. She has testing with her Cyber Teacher next week, as well as another visit with her Rheumatologist. We had a brief spark of hope regarding her arthritis last week, when the Rheum. informed us that her Lyme Titer was positive. After confirmation blood work, we discovered today that it was a false positive, leaving us with no doubt of her diagnosis of JIA.

L was very excited to go back to Preschool this week. She has been a busy girl for the past 2 weeks, celebrating a birthday and 2 Christmases within 72 hours. We have Birthday Party II this weekend so that she can have the pink poodle cake she was hoping for.

New Year's Resolutions...did you make any? I just use the start of each new year to renew my efforts of becoming more organized and improving my time management issues. Speaking of time management...staying up late to blog is counter productive. Time for bed.

Happy 2011 Everyone! I wish you all the best in achieving your own New Year's Resolutions this year.

Just a few pics of our fun Holiday activities with family: